The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-05
IN THE BOWELS OF OLD LOOKOUT
Remarkable Caves Found in the
Mountains, and the Usual Stalag-
mites and StalactiteS.

mites and Stalactites.
From the st. Louts Globe Democrat.
Three miles south of Chattanooga, out of
the eastern base of Lookout mountain, a
stream of water ponrs into the valley in a
steady volume a foot in width and six inches
deep. The flowing of the water as it comes
out of the rocky we'll is accompanied by a
constant current of cold air, and for this
cause the natives have named 1t Blowing
Spring. Some time ago the Grant brothers
and McCrath, who own the surrounding
mountain side and valley land, conceived
the idea that the spring had its source In
immense caverns, with which Indian To-
gends say the interior of Lookout mountain
is honeycombed. and they offered a reward
of $50 to any one who would explore these
hidden caves. Last Saturday mountain
eer named Alex Smith appeared at the
Office of Grant Brothers and claimed the
reward He brought several stalagmiteS
and stalactites of remarkable size and
beauty and of many curious shapes, to
gether with small crystals and fragments of
rock which were scanned with what APP
peared to be silver, lead and copper.
The Grant Brothers told the mountaineer
they would give him the promised $50 aud
another half hundred on top of it If he
would verify his find by taking them over
the ground of his explorations. Accord
ingly party, consisting of NJ. and II. w.
Grant, J. W. McCrath, S. B, Logan, the
successful gas well borer, and representa-
tives of the daily papers took carriages and
drove to Blowing Spring this morning al D
O'Clock. After breakfasting at a farm
house, dressing themselves i'll heavy flannel
clothing, and providing themselves with
miners lamps, the party, under the leader
ship of Smith, began their tortuous entrance
to the cave The explorers had to take the
water from the start, crawling along in the
bed of a narrow stream on their hands and
knees, and often doing the snake act on
their stomach for hundreds of feet at a
time. When they left the open air the tenn
perature stood at 80, and the water in the
cavity was 40' This mode of progress was
kept up for more than an hour, when a cav
ity nNthe right of the stream was entered,
and the party proceeded in half-bent at
titude along a winding passage hoored with
sand and INSTRUCTED by powders and ir~
regular blocks of rotten limestone until
they reached a chamber of an oval shape,
90 feet wide and IS feet in length, and
about % feet high
Here the first stalagmites and stalactites
of any considerable size were found. Many
OF the former rose to a height of ten feet,
and the latter hung down from the ceiling
almost low enough to touch the heads of the
behofders Some time was spent in exam
lining the outer edges of this subterranean
apartment Several pieces of rock were
knocked off with small hammers from the
jutting lodges on one side of the cave, and
under the iampiight showed Enthusiastically
evidence of the presence of either silver or
lead ore. Following their guide the men
left this chamber, and after clanabering up
q long, steep passage which led in the di.
rection of the top of Lookout Mountain for
more than half an hoar descended for a dis
lance of nearly 100 yards, leaping like
mountain goats from rock to rock and then
entered long gallery, which ran alongside
stream for nearly half a mile. This gallery
had others opening into it at right angles
and irregular intervals, and its walls
were crusted with myriads of tiny crystals
that glistened like diamonds in the light of
the lamps. A sudden turn in the tortuous
passage brought the party into large hall
over two acres in extent. Every one stood
rooted to the ground with establishment.
In the middle of this immense opening gilt
tered the crystal waters of lake, and from
its centre rose a miniature island, from
whose bosom, uplifted to a height of nearly
fifteen feet, rose tall, symmetrical stalag-
mite; that bore perfect resemblance to a
Gothic tower, white at the top, and of yell
lowish tint at the base Urmarets, baStions,
and terraces were as accurately traced in
its outlines as if they had been fastened by
the hand of a human architect This large
central tower was surrounded by others
smaller in size and height, and of divers
shapes and colors but all bearing singular
resemblance to architectural forms.
The floor of the cave surrounding the lake
was smooth as glass and of a blackish gray
hue. like the marble formed in the white
oaks region in Southern New Me xico. 1t
was covered with bright pebbles of many
colors and varying in dimensions from the
size of pins head to that of a walnut.
Many of these were gathered by the explor-
ing party, ana are pronounced to be opals.
Some of the specimens collected are said TO
be larger and more fiawless than those found
in the neighborhood of Chihuahua. The
ceiling of this vast underground cavern,
which was dome shaped and forty feet above
the miniature lake, was thick with pendant
stalactites arranged as if nature in placing
them there had tried her hand at lincr1Ista
work On benches of rock rising like ter
races on the eastern side of this. apartment
were arranged huge stalactites, grotesquites
bearing the shapes of recumbent animals.
Among these latter Mr.. McCrath found
and detached from its fastenings one that
looked like petrfied turtle
No fish were found in the lake, but on
one side of it were seen the footprints of
raccoon and hear. A crawling brook came
out of one side of the rocky wall and fed the
lake with its waters. A careful examjna-
ton showed that the lake had no outlet.
There is but one passage loading into this
immense cavern. IL is the supposition of
many that these caves were known TO the In
dians, and there are evidences that they
used them as places for retreat during war
and as burial places for their dead. On their
return trip the party explored many smaller
caves. In one of them indications Of gyp-
sum and iron were found, and in another,
which is not more than 800 yards from the
mouth on the side of Lookout Mountain
they came upon bubbling spring, which
Mr. Logan says, gives uninistakable evil
dence Of the presence of natural gas.